The Briefing
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In today’s email:
- Featured story: How many Americans are using AI chatbots for election information?
- New from Pew Research Center: What is your civic personality?
- In other news: Citizens sue Trump over media ban
- Looking ahead: Reddit introduces “For You” feed
- Chart of the week: Majority of Americans now say social media is an important way they get their news
🔥 Featured story
Artificial intelligence is now integrated into not only chatbots but also major social media platforms and search engines. This is raising questions about the effect of AI on the midterm elections, including whether it offers voters accurate information and whether people will base their voting decisions on its answers.
A new Pew Research Center survey finds that 8% of Americans say they are using AI chatbots to find information related to this year’s election. Those who do mainly are looking for info about candidates or fact checks, while smaller shares say they are using chatbots for suggestions about how to make their vote choices or to find logistical election information.
🚨 New from Pew Research Center
Take our recently released quiz to find out how your engagement with news, politics, religious and civic activities compares with what we found in a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults from the Pew-Knight Initiative.
📌 In other news
📅 Looking ahead
Reddit is rolling out a new “For You” feed that mixes posts from communities users are part of with recommendations tailored to their interests. Other sites like Instagram and X have already implemented similar features, modeled after TikTok’s successful format. On Reddit, this could reshape how people discover not just information and entertainment but also communities.
A recent Pew Research Center survey from the Pew-Knight Initiative found that online communities can be part of people’s regular information routines. Nearly four-in-ten U.S. adults are part of an online community, and the vast majority of people who belong to one (86%) say staying informed is a reason they go to their most-visited online community. Overall, 15% of Americans say they’re part of an online community on discussion forums like Reddit.
A separate Center survey found that about one-in-ten Americans (9%) say they regularly get news on Reddit, including 18% of adults under 30.
📊 Chart of the week
This week’s chart comes from a recent analysis from the Pew-Knight Initiative on the importance of social media in Americans’ news habits.
A majority of U.S. adults now say social media platforms are an important way for them to keep up with news. This includes 13% who say they are the most important way they get news – up from 5% in 2022.
Majority of Americans now say social media is an important way they get news
% of U.S. adults who say social media is __ for them to keep up with the news
Note: Those who did not answer are not shown.
Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted June 22-28, 2026. Refer to the topline for dates of other surveys.
PEW-KNIGHT INITIATIVE
Majority of Americans now say social media is an important way they get news
% of U.S. adults who say social media is __ for them to keep up with the news
| The most important way | An important way, but not the most important way | Not an important way | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 13 | 45 | 42 |
| 2022 | 5 | 39 | 56 |
Note: Those who did not answer are not shown.
Source: Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted June 22-28, 2026. Refer to the topline for dates of other surveys.
PEW-KNIGHT INITIATIVE
👋 That’s all for this week.
The Briefing is compiled by Pew Research Center staff, including Naomi Forman-Katz, Christopher St. Aubin, Emily Tomasik, Joanne Haner and Sawyer Reed. It is edited by Michael Lipka and copy edited by Mia Hennen.
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